Supporting arm for electrical fixtures



Nov. 11, 1952 I K, VERSE 2,617,619

SUPPORTING ARM FOR ELECTRICAL FIXTURES Filed April 5, 1951 IIVVENTOR. f Verse ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1952 SUPPORTING ARM FOR ELECTRICAL FIXTURES .Kurt Versen, Tenafly,- N. J.

Application-April 3, 1951, Serial No. 218,995

12. Claims. 1

Themresent inventioni dea'ls with: a 'swivet and tmore particularly with a=swivel pivoted 'supportingarm for electrical fixtures.

#Electrical fixtures'ibf i the type having a lamp se'cured thereto by means of a supportingxarm are usually provideduwithseithenfan :immoveable supporting arm or-a supporting armvadapt'edfor "'angular mcvement, e. g; angular movementina 1 horizontal. or vertical plane or both 'planes;i-the purpose of the angular: movement being. to position the' lamp for desired illumination. Jointed supporting g arms for :providing 1 angular "movementare known but have. ithei disadvantage in sthatxthe joint interferes withithe-wiring or elecl tri'cal conductors to. the lamp andisuch conduc tors are, itherefore' usually locatedxexternally ofthe joint or of the supporting arm; which detracts -fromtheappearance: of theifixture. For greater directional movement, it'is advantageousto pro a --vi-de.a, supporting arm; having a combination. of ujoints'i including a: swivelt'means. Int thexlatter gcase the. swivel and other 'joints areusually sepa- 1 rated from each OthBI'iby asubstantial: length of the supportingarm to' allow greater freedom of movement, but which detracts from the appearance of the 'fi'xtureinsthat the stru'ctu'relis somewhat: bulky.

:i:Swivel':structures; containing electrical wiring ware: limited with: respect :to. rotary? motion since ithe contained electrical;- wiring .may be broken (or; disconnected if the rotary: motion is} substantially; beyond 3.60 degrees. rTheref-ore, swivel istructures, containing electrical wiring have been provided -with a 'maximumrotary movement 1 mechanically limited to n approximately 270:- d e- 1 greesand less although a-,-rotary1movement. of

7 360 gdegreesis'more: desirable since, in-siich case,

aa lampl may be positioned for- -providing illumination Lfr-om every useful angle without breaking or l; ,disconnecting the electrical wiring.

It-is an object of the present invention to provide a swivel.-pivoted supporting armf for-telectrical fixtures. It, is another objectof the pres- I entginvent-ionc to provide l a supporting (,arm. for electrical fixtures whereby all pivoted movement originates in a single substantially short housling. l'It isa further object of the present inven- .tion to provide a supporting arm for an adjustable member comprising a single substantially short housing encasing a swivel. meanscapable of 3360 "degrees rotary movement. and another pivot capable of a movement in a vertical planev Fig; l-illustrates an elevational'view cf'a swivel pivoted supporting-sarm according-z-to the present invention,

Fig. 2 illustrates an elevational-i -ieve oiia swivel pivotedz supportingaarm partl 'i: broken: away to showitherassembledswivelstructure,

":1 Fig; 3..illustrates1 a'sectio'n'ai "viewl' of the swivel --rstructure 'alongthelines 3+3-cf'Fig': 2,

mg: 41Ii1lus'tratesa sectional view'o-f the swivel structureL-aI'Ongthe lines 4-+4':of"Fig.- 3, 10

Fig; 5 illustrates an elevational view of a swivel bodyf member. -along the lines: 5- -55 'of: -Eig.% .2,

"Fig. 6 illustrates amelevationaliendview'bf the "swivel bodylshowinga pivotbearingaccordingto the presentinvention, I

Fig; '7 illustrates a pivotring cooperative with the pivot bearing of Fig. 6,

-: Fig; 8 -is afragment'ary view of adetached sheet metal body such as a -canopy or a reflector, c

Fig. 9 :is a fragmentary viewl along lines 9+9 1: of Fig. 4; and

Fig; 10 is: a- -perspective .view of adetached swivel bearing.

According to thepresent invention, I provide a The swivelrof:mylinvention. is particularly suitable for electrical fi'xtureslin'that electricalwireling passestthrough said swivel and is, prevented from disconnecting or} breaking whileea full-360 degrees rotationis provided, which, when com- Qplane of rotation-provides a'greaterlmaneuver- {ability for positioningllamps or lamprefiectors for desiredlilluminationlthanhas heretofore been possible. fY'F'cr example/it isapparent thatIIthe rotarymovement of a swivel, having wiring passing therethrough, must be limited -130. prevent bined witha. pivot for movement vertical to the breakage, etc., of the Wiring. It is further ap arent that a mechanical stop provided to 'lirnit rotary motion in a plane. of" rotation "will limit such motion to substantially less than 360 degrees, which produces a' blind area or a directional limitation between 'theimaximum rotation possible and 360 degrees i. e." between about; 270

' degrees. and 360 degrees. I have, therefore, "prov'i'ded a novel structure whichpermits a "stopped but full 360 degrees rotary motion" in a" planeof rotation and" which permits a lamp to-beif position'ed forii'ghting' in' any useful "direction.

Fig. 1 illustrates the swivel pivoted supporting arm I with a lamp reflector 2 secured thereto and which lamp reflector, by virtue of the combination of a swivel and another joint vertically moveable to the plane of rotation of said swivel, may be positioned for illumination from any useful angle substantially as illustrated.

Fig. 2 illustrates the supporting arm or swivel body I secured to a plate member or a canopy 3. The swivel body comprises a substantially bilaterally symmetrical housing composed of two parts or halves e. g. jaws, 4 and 5, which are assembled to form said swivel body and are secured to each other by means, for example, of two threaded members or screws 6 and I.

Rotary motion is provided by means of a tubular swivel bearing 8 coaxial and cooperative with said swivel body, while the vertical movement is provided by means of a pivot ringcooperative with a pivot bearing hereinafter more particularly described."

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate the swivel of my invention taken alonglines' 33 of Fig. 2 and 4-4 of Fig. 3. The swivel body jaws 4 and 5 contain, near an end thereof, and when assembled as illustrated, an internal groove I0 terminating at the abutment II. The swivel bearing 8 is provided, near an end thereof, with an arcuate slot I2 formed through its Wall and partly along the circumference thereof and such that, when the bearing 8 is positioned'in the swivel body formed by jaws 4 and 5, the slot is adjacent to groove I8 during rotation of said housing. A floating stop I3, e. g. a floating rivet, having a head portion I4, ispositioned into said slot and slidably retained therein so that said floatingstop is moveable along the length of said slot. The head portion I4 is dimensioned to ride or move within the groove I0 and said housing or swivel body is thereby held from disengagement from said swivel bearing 8. Upon rotation of said housing, a normally fixed stop, i. e. a non-floating stop, would prevent rotation of the housing when the stop contacted the abutment II, e. g. upon a rotary movement less than 360 degrees. However, with the floating stop I3, rotation of the housing is not stopped by contact of the abutment I I with the head I4 but continues until the floating stop has traversed the entire length of the slot I2. The additional rotation provided by the length of the slot I2 allows the housing to rotate 360 degrees in a plane of rotation and even more if desired depending upon the length of the slot I2. The floating stop, since it imparts a 360 degree rotation to said housing, eliminates the blind area or directional limitation in a plane of rotahousing I so that the inner friction surface 22 of the ring 9, as shown in Fig. 7, is rotatably moveable thereon for a movement of approximately 180 degrees and more in a direction vertical to that of the plane of rotation of the swivel pivot structure hereinbefore described without interference to electrical conductors. The swivel ring 9 is provided with an opening 23 through which the conductors I5 and I6 pass for electrical connection to a lamp socket.

- The bearings or bearing surfaces 4' and 5' on the jaws 4 and 5 are co-axial with the guides I9 and and cooperate with bearing surfaces on each side of the ring 9, one of said bearing surfaces being designated by the numeral I9.

Although the inner surface 22 may be integral with the ring 9, I prefer to provide a removable or insert ring 22' as a bearing means and which is composed of a porous metal impregnated or graphite and the like lubricants.

- position. As a modification, I may provide other components of my invention, e. g. components I having bearing engaging surfaces, such as the inher surface of the jaws 4 and 5 which contact the bearing 3, at least partly with such a metal, e. g.

, by cladding semi-circular strips of such material i onto the said bearing surfaces to form a ring as shown by the reference numeral 22.

When the supporting arm i is assembled according to Fig. 2, the threaded members 6 and I are turned to a degree of tightness such that the is secondary to the other advantages provided by 0 my invention.

Fig. 5 illustrates an internal view of one of the swiveljaws, e. g. jaw 4, showing electrical wires or conductors I5 and I6 passing therethrough and preferably separated from each other by means of the projecting anchor structures I1 and I8 to which the screws 8 and I are secured. The pivot guides I 9 and 20, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, are substantially ring-like, e. g. a three-quarter ring,

with an axis perpendicular to the axis of saidhousing or swivel body and recessed from the peripheryof the curvature of the end 2| Of the parts 4 and 5 are brought together to impart a pressure against the swivel bearing 8 and the rin 9 so that the ease of movement of the rotatable structures may be regulated for concentric motion under variable degrees of friction and the lamp will maintain any desired position.

The threaded members are shown to be spaced laterally of each other along the longitudinal axis of the housing 5. 'One of the threaded members is coaxial with the pivot structure bearing and engageable with both bilateral jaws d and 5. The other threaded member is shown having an axis perpendicular to the swivel bearing 8 and located in the vicinity thereof and also engageable with both jaws. These members regulate the ease of movement of the housing I and swivel ring 9 by imparting a pressure thereon when tightened. By providing such threaded members as described, I provide a means not only for regulating the ease of rotatable movement of the housing but also a means whereby the swivel housing will maintain any position to which it has been moved.

Fig. 8 illustrates a fragmentary view of a detached metal body such as canopy 3 or detached lamp reflector 2. The reflector is provided with an aperture 2 5 having at least one ofiset slot 25. This aperture may be provided on any desirable location on the reflector, canopy or other sheet metal body, and cooperates with a substantially cylindrical reflector mounting means 26, shown in Fig. 7, which is tubular and at least a portion thereof being preferably threaded. The reflector mounting means is provided with at least one radially offset lug or seat, e. g., key 2'! which engages the slot 25 and securely fixes or anchors the reflector againstrotation. The key 27 may abut or may be integral with the underface of ber, the mounted end portion of said swivel bearing having a non-circular cross section, said end portion being engageable with a cooperating orifice in said plate member, said pivot structure being mounted on bearing means having an axis perpendicula to the axis of said housing. said housing being substantially bilaterally symmetrical and formed of two parts, a pair of laterally spaced threaded members, said parts being secured to each other by means of said threaded members, one of said threaded members being coaxial with said Divot structure bearing and engageable with both of said parts, the othe of said threaded members having an axis perpend'icular to the axis of said tubular swivel hearing and engageable with both of said parts.

7. An adjustable lamp fixture comprising in combination a lamp reflector having an orifice, a single housing containing a swivel structure within one end portion thereof and a pivot struc- :ture within another end portion thereof, said swivel structure including a, tubular swivel bearing coaxial with said housin said pivot structure being mounted on hearing means having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said housing, said pivot structure including a lamp reflector mounting means, said mounting means being tubular and havin .3, flange thereon, the underface of said flange having a raised noncircular seat thereon, said seat being engageable with said orifice having a corresponding shape in said reflector in mounted position on said reflector mounting means, said housing being substantially bilaterally symmetrical and formed of two parts, a pair of laterally spaced threaded members, said parts being secured to each other by means of said threaded members, one of said threaded members being coaxial with said pivot structure bearing and engageable with both of said parts, the other of said threaded members having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said tubular swivel bearing and engageable with both of said parts.

'8. An adjustable lamp fixture comprising in combination a canopy, a lamp reflector, a single housing containing a swivel structure within one end portion thereof and a pivot structure within another end portion thereof, said swivel structure including a tubular swivel bearing coaxial with said housing, an end portion of said tubular swivel bearing being mounted on said canopy, the mounted end portion of said swivel bearing having a non-circular cross section, said end portion being engageable with a cooperating orifice in said canopy, said pivot structure being mounted on bearing means having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said housing, said pivot structure including a lamp reflector mounting means, said mounting means being tubular and having a non-circular head, said head bein engageable with a cooperating orifice in said reflector in mounted position on said reflector mounting means, said housing being substantially bilaterally symmetrical and formed of two parts, a pair of laterally spaced threaded members, said parts being secured to each other by means of said thread-ed members, one of said threaded members being coaxial with said pivot structure bearing and eng-ageable with both of said parts, the other of said threaded members having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said tubular swivel bearing and engage-able with both of said parts.

9. A supporting arm for an adjustable member comprising in combination a single housing containing a swivel structure within one end portion thereof and a pivot structure within another end portion thereof, said swivel structure including a tubular swivel bearing coaxial with said housing, said pivot structure comprisin a ring member mounted on bearing means having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said housing, said ring member being composed at least in part of a porous metal impregnated with a lubricant, said housing being substantially bilaterally symmetrical and composed of two parts, a pair of laterally spaced threaded members, said parts being secured to each other by means of said threaded members, one of aid threaded members being coaxial with said pivot structure bearing means and engageable with both of said parts, the other of said threaded members having an axis perpendicular to the axis of said tubular swivel bearing and engageable with both of said parts.

10. A supporting arm according to claim 9, wherein said pivot structure comprises an outer ring member and an inner insert rin member, said inner ring member being composed of a porous metal impregnated with a lubricant.

11. An adjustable fixture'c-ompri-sing in combination a pair of apertured plates, a single housing containing a swivel structure within one end portion thereof and a. pivot structure within another end portion thereof, said swivel structure including a tubular swivel bearing coaxial with said housing, said pivot structure being mounted on bearing means having an axis erpendicular to the axis of said housing, said pivot structure including a mounting means for one of said plates, said mounting means being tubular and having a flange thereon, the underface of said flange having a raised non-circular seat thereon, said seat being eng-agea-ble with said aperture having a corresponding shape in one of said plates in mounted position on said mounting means, said swivel bearing having an end portion thereof mounted on said other plate, the mounted end portion of said swivel bearing having a noncir-cul-ar cross section, said end portion being en ageable with said aperture having a corresponding shape in said other plate, said housing being substantially bilaterally symmetrical and formed of two parts, a pair of laterally spaced threaded members, said threaded members being laterally spaced longitudinally of said hous ing, said parts being secured to each other by mean-s of said threaded members, one of said threaded members being coaxial with said pivot structure bearing and engageable with both of said parts, the other of said threaded members having an axis perpendicular to. the axis of said tubular swivel bearing and engageable with both of said parts.

12. An adjustable fixture according to claim 11, wherein one of plates is a lamp reflector and the other of said plates is a canopy.

KURT VERSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

